Railway journal bearing



Sept. 21, 1948. ssY I 2,449,895

RAILWAY JOURNAL BEARING Filed 0ot. 20, 1945 ENTOR'. JAMES ENNESSY BYQdZM A TORNEY.

Patented Sept. 21 1948 UNITED STATES ATE T OFFICE" 2,449,895: RAILWAY 'JOURNALLBEARING' James .I. Hennessy, Montclairj N. J. Application ctober 20, 1945, Serial mama 6 Claims.- (opens- 791) The invention, relates to the lubrication of railwa'yaxle journals, and more particularly to locomotive driver axle journals equipped with a cellar beneath the journal and with a mechanical device for pumping lubricant from the cellar to the'journal. The invention relates to improvements in the' bearing construction disclosed in my Patent No. 2,293,295, issued August '18, 1942. Mechanical lubricators of the class described may comprise a pump actuated by the play of the axle back and forth in the journal box and usually such a pump is arranged to feed an-adequate supply of lubricant to the journal under unfavorable conditions, such as low temperatures, slow movement of the locomotive, close fit of the axle box to the wheel hub with resulting relatively "small play of the axle back and forth in the journal box. Hence, when the conditions are more favorable for pumping lubricant to the journal, as in warm weather and when there is greaterpla'y between the parts, there'will be an excess amount of lubricant supplied and the excess and returned to the lubricant cellar without first lubricating adjacent faces of the wheel hub and axle box. To lubricate adjacent faces of the wheel hub and axle box,-passages were formed leading from the journal hearing at points in contactwith the journal to the outer face of the axle box and subject to the pressure between the bearing'andjournal. With this arrangement, lubricant under pressure was forced through the passages and the flow of lubricant to the wheel hub was excessive and much was'lost.

The object of the present invention is to control the quantity of lubricant supplied to the wheel hubs and adjacent faces of the axle boxes. More specifically, lubricant flow is controlled by providing a-passage to the 'outer face of each axle box from an area of the bearing surface where lubricant is relieved from journal pressure, and the quantity of lubricant flow is determined by theangular position of the passage relative to the bearing face.

This and other detailed objects of the invention are attained by the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is an enlarged detailed isometric view of adjacent portions of a driver box, bearing, cel lar, and associated elements, the box and bearlng being sectioned horizontalliy to more clearly illustrate the construction.

, Figure 2 is an end View of the bearing, box, and cellar with the journal sectioned.v the line of view being taken approximately on the line 2-2 of Figure 3. The bearing, box, and cellar are ubstantially symmetrical about a vertical plane through the'center of the journal.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through a'restricted portion of a locomotive axle box and bearing showing the journal and adjacentportion of the Wheel hub.

Figure 415 a section taken approximately on line 4'4 of Figure 2 and shows the lubricant passage leading from the bearing to the outer face thereof adjacent the wheel hub.

A journal I mounting a driving wheel, the hub ofwhich is shown at 2, rotates in journal bearing 3 which fits around the upper portion of the journal and is seated in axle box 4 having the top wall 5 and side wall 6 recessed to receive the bearing; At the lower portion of axle box'4 is alubricant cellar- I for lubricant supplied to journal I an'dbearing '3 by a pump and distributor or by othe'r means (not shown). 'Near the outer end of bearing 3 adjacent wheel hub 2' is a circumferential recess 8 extending from onelower edge of the bearing to the other to trap excess lubricant and to relieve lubricant of pressure exerted thereon by rotation of the bearing in the journal. A second recess 9 extending also from one'lower edge of the bearing to the other about the inner periphery of the bearing is spaced outwardly from recess 8 and cooperates therewith to'form a rib I0.

"Near each lower forward end of the bearing,

rib I0 and the peripheral face of recess 9 are grooved to provide parallel downwardly and inwardly extending'channels II and I2, the inner ends of which merge with recess 8. The peripheral face of recess 9 is grooved also at each lower forward end to providea downwardly and outwardly extending channel I3, the outer end of which-merges with a slot I4 on the outer face of the bearing andaxle box adjacent the wheel hub to facilitate distribution of lubricant thereto.

-Near each end of-the'peripheralface of, recess '8, a hole I 5 is drilled at an angle of approximately 30"to the horizontal.- .A slot I! is formed in the outer face; of the bearing andbox. Another hole I6 :is drilled from slot II substantially parallel to the longitudinal. axisiof the journal and perpendicular to h'ole' I5 and intersects the latter to forma-passage I8-from recess 8, an area of re-. duced pressure, to the outer face of the axle box adjacent the wheel hub.

i Lubricant flows from the interior of the bearing through passage I8 to the outer face of the bearing and the quantity of lubricant flowing through passage I8 is determined by the angle of hole l5 with the bearing face, the smaller the angle, the greater the quantity of lubricant flowing through the hole because of the added force of gravity on the steeper slope and elongation of the entrance to the hole I5 at the bearing surface into which lubricant drains more freely.

Lubricant supplied-from the cellar-t the journal in the conventional manner spreads outwardly along the journal toward recess 8 and some of the lubricant is trapped therein. However, some lubricant passes rib l0 and is trappedinreces st where it flows to the lower part thereof. "Some lubricant passes in grooves H and, liaiback'itomee cess 8. Lubricant reachinggroove l3,passes,outwardly to slot M in the outer bearing face and is distributed to adjacent faces of thel heelhub and axle box. Any lubricant below groove l3 ,returnsto lubricant cellar J. As lubricant flowspast hole l5, some lubricant -.-fiows into passage 18 under the .force ofgravity to ,slot i 1 on the ,outer (face-.ofHaxle boxA and is distributed thereby to the adjacent ,face .of the wheel hub. To insure aniadequate supply of lubricant at alltimes to the wheel vhub, hole I1 5 is preferably drilled 1 approximately at v,or below .the junction ,of groove 1 l with recess 8 sotl'iata portion of lubricant trapped in recess 9 fiqws ov er the: hole viawgroove at]. lubricant reaching the {lower partof recess .8 below hole 15 returns to lubricant cellar 'l tojbe used again.

Pressure of the ;lubricant is relieved in all depressed areas ot-engaging the journal, as ,in re- ,cesseswfi and- 9, ;in grooves l l, l2,.a, d 13,1 pagieeeafi ai Slots aodJJ- A bea rin gzof the kinddescribed-provides adequate though not excessive lubrication to the cuter faces of the axle. box andnwheel hubs, and the quantity ,of lubricant suppliedto the outer ifae e l sd b ch es t ula *PPQF -Q Q W f' el a i t the-b a in a e 1*esultiz1 g in an elongated-or shortenedt opening t p i Q T Z-R h 31 ow rthligugh 13 5. 3 9 increase ordecrease the quantity of lubricant to the wheelhub. jifilso by changing the angle b e- Wee h -al e a sndt he ne a e th -en- 159. 'Sisl 9 h ,h l w .5 eater =9 Je. in; in ea ed-0r d c as Q un e -th Ql'Q .q e ne I :h l em i th lements o t s em ation may be used irrespective of whether allof h qth ement a e r sent it is p e e a to ,retain all of these elements ,to assureadeguate an e nomic u cai ca an o templat exclusive use of. the describedparts, separately ,or .we h rie n modi a n "the sa -W i come ,within the scope of the appended claims. Eon example, in some instances it'may be desirable to recess the journal to form an area. of re 'd ced pre sur and t ar n .be c nnecte by a: passage to @theouter face of the bearing.

Whatispclaimed is Y, 1. A railway .axle journal bearing with a journalengaging facehaving acircumfenentialigroove positioned to trap lubricant as .it moves towards the end of the bearing and providing an area'free of engagement with the journal to whichcit is 4 1y from said face at approximately 30 from a horizontal plane.

3.,A railway axle journal bearing with an outer wheel hub engaging face and a semi-cylindrical downwardly presented concave journal engaging face provided near one end with a circumferential recess whereby lubricant between the bearing and a journalto which it is applied will be trapped and relieved of pressure as it moves lonitudinally of th-e'bearing and reaches the recess, and a downwardly and outwardly sloping passage -in the peripheral face of said recess connecting saidrecesstoithe outer face of the bearing.

applied whereby. lubricant-insthis ,area between 4. A railway axle journal bearing with an outer wheel hub engaging face and a semi-cylindrical downwardly presented concave journal engaging face provided near one end with a peripheral recess whereby lubricant between the bearin and a journal to which it is applied will be relieved ,of pressure asitmoves-longitudinally.of ,the bearing and reaches the recess, a passage sloping downwardly from --the peripheral face rof .said ,re' .cess i-nto saidsbearing and connecting said recess to theputer-facerof the bearing,a second periph- .eralrecess separated from the first recess by :a ,rib, a groove inethe peripheralafac e ,of said ,sec- .cnd recess slop g d wnwardly andnoutwardlyto the outer face of the bearing, a .portion of said rib being cut :away to perm it-excess lubricant to flow "from ,the secondumentioned-trecess to the first mentioned 'ZX'BCSSS.

5. A railwayaxle j ournalbearing with an outer .wheel hub engagingface and a semi-cylindrical ldownwarcl-ly presented concave journal engaging lace provided-near one-endlwvith a recess whereby, lubricant between the (bearing and a journal to which it is applied will be relieved of pressure as it moves longitudinally of the bearingandreaches the reces 7a econd peripheral recess adja ent the end of the bearing and spaced from the ,first r ess by ir b fixe W in h -:i e hh m e ,of said .secmnd ,rnentioned qrecess slopin tdownwardly lthru said rib to said first mentioned r,e.- ,QGSSfi'lld connectingsaid recesses, a passage-having ;anopenin mat-he: pe ipheral f O e i rfi jrnenti-onedrecess ;located approximately at the riunction cftheugroovev and the recess and connecting the recess: to the outerface oi the-bear ill'l rai wayaxle o rna ea na t a plifi lwheelehublengaging race and a semi-cylindrical downward y presented-concave journ l en aging iace ap lcvidedrnear lone end with ,a circumferential :recess wherebyv lubricant-b etween the-bearing and al'ournal toawhichitis applied will bereilieved c rnressu aasi mov l git dinally o the bearin and reaches thel,recess,, said bearing av n a'. ole slopi -d wnwardly 10m h cumierentialraace of said-recess :into said bearing, .a second rhcle in :theucut -sfa r he wea ing substantially parallel v-,to the longitudinal .axis thereof andextendingto aidifirst mentioned hole toiiorm gaxpassage-froman area in the bearing wheremressure of {the lubricant is relieved ,tothe outer; face of ,the :bearing.

HJASMJ. ENNESSY.

REFERE CE C TEED The following references are. of record in the file of this patent:

" N TE TA ESPA ENT Num e :Nam 1 Date 'p TL 7T? 2,293,295 Hennessy 7:? J Aug. {1,8, 2199. 2 

